Why Invest in real estate ?

I got thinking the other day about who was the first-ever millionaire.

It was a curiosity thing for me, as well as an opportunity to do some research online to see what would come up. I was shocked at what I found.

It gave me a real kick up the butt. Up until that point, I thought I was an action-taker. Unfortunately I was driving with the hand-brake on.

It's funny how these old secrets come up all of the time and really shift you paradigm and get you going again.

OK, let's get into it. This is a 161 year old secret that once you read it - it'll put "making money" into a whole new perspective.

Success leaves clues, so I dug around and found the name, John Jacob Astor.

Interestingly enough, he was an American from German background.

Astor got rich in the early 1800's trading furs, tea, silk and fine china. Principally a business person to start off with, but that was not where his real fortune was made.

He invested his trading profits in something that would prove to be even better...

Real estate.

His most profitable investments were in New York City where he built a reputation known as the "Manhattan Landlord."

Before he died, he left these powerful words. Astor said, "Could I begin life again knowing what I know and had money to invest, I would buy every foot of land on the island of Manhattan."

Astor passed away in 1848 leaving $20,000,000.00 to his family.

$20 million may not sound like a lot today to some of us, but in today's value it would be around about...

Wait for this...

$458 BILLION.

Now that's an insane amount of money.

This brief story about a person you've probably never heard about has many powerful lessons, doesn't it?

Let's go through them quickly...

#1. Increase your cash flow

#2. Invest in real estate

...I did say quick and simple, it really comes down to just
two things.

The parting words of John Jacob Astor should be written up an posted somewhere where you can see it every day.

Sure, Astor is talking about Manhattan, but don't let that limit you. Pick any major city around the world (even Australia) in that time frame and you'd see a similar story.

This real estate thing isn't a fad or a passing-trend, you would want to live for as long as you can and see as many cycles as possible.

The sooner you start, the better.